Eucalyptus Magazine, March-April 2012 by Eucalyptus Magazine

bay area Life Vibrant Health Eco-Living

窶［arch + april 2012 FREE

eucalyptusmagazine.com

Stress Relief Native Plant Gardening Marin Sun Farms Health Benefits of Pets The pH Diet Spring Cleaning

sustainable

cheesemaking

in the Bay Area

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March + April 2012 Features

16 Cultivating a Sense of Place Bay Area native plant gardening By rhea Maze

18 Making Cheese &

Caretaking the Land

Sustainable cheesemaking By Doña bumgarner

20 Stress Relief

Five techniques that don’t come in a bottle By alan lopez

Departments 7 Grown Local /Marin Sun Farms 10 Pets Corner /Prescription Pets 13 Healthful Eating /The pH Diet

In Every Issue 3 Publisher’s Note 28 Tidbits /Green Tips 28 Advertisers’ Index

Cover: Cheese round and chestnut, photographed by Darius Dzinnik/iStockPhoto. This page: Chicken at Marin Sun Farms, photographed by Lane Johnson.

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 1

EUCALYPTUS Michaela Marek Publisher and Founder EDITORIAL Editor Ann Marie Brown Contributing Writers DoĂąa Bumgarner, Erica Goss, Alan Lopez, Rhea Maze Copy Editor Erin Yasuda Soto Editorial Intern Rhea Maze DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Designer Greg Silva Photo Editor and Photographer Lane Johnson Contributing Photographer Rachael Olmstead Production Manager Diana Russell advertising sales Rebecca Campos, Michaela Marek contact 15559 Union Avenue, Suite 215 Los Gatos, CA 95032 phone 408.335.4778, fax 408.877.7303 email info@eucalyptusmagazine.com Web eucalyptusmagazine.com Twitter twitter.com/eucalyptusmag Facebook facebook.com/eucalyptusmagazine Subscription rate $24.00 per year Advertising rates on request Volume 2, Issue 10

ÂŠ2012 by Eucalyptus Magazine, ISSN 2160-4541 (print), ISSN 2160-4576 (online). Eucalyptus is a registered trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All rights reserved. Some parts of this magazine may be reproduced with written permission only. We welcome your ideas, articles, and feedback. Although every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy of published materials, Eucalyptus Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. We do not necessarily endorse products and services advertised. Always consult a professional provider for clarification.

Eucalyptus is the winner of the 2010 Apex Awards for Publication Excellence for green publications, and the 2010 Gold MarCom Award for green publications.

2 | March + April 2012

lane johnson

publisher’s note

In springtime, my thoughts turn to flowers. There is something in the air at this time of year that brings me a sense of renewal, and it makes me want to have living things and color all around me. That’s what motivates me, and maybe you, as well, to head to the garden store at this time of year. This spring I’ve made a vow to forgo the water-thirsty annual flowers and grass in my garden. I’m planting California native flowers and shrubs, which need to be watered much less than other types of plants, and thrive well in our Mediterranean climate. In doing so, I’ll be helping to preserve the wonderful array of plant species we have here in the Golden State. Replacing our lawns and water-guzzling gardens with California native grasses and flowering plants makes longterm sense both for our budgets and for the environment. This issue’s article on page 16 has given me a lot of ideas about how to make my garden more water-wise and eco-friendly, and I hope it will do the same for you. Whether your preference is a relaxed cottage garden or a more formal manicured yard, there are many sustainable landscaping options available that will satisfy even the most demanding gardeners. Even if you are not ready to replace your lawn and “go

native,” you might consider hiring the services of a certified green gardener who is knowledgeable about soil and plant management, irrigation scheduling, composting, and natural pest control. To find a green gardener, visit www.mywatershedwatch.org/findgardener.html. I’m wishing you a green and happy spring.

Michaela Marek Publisher and Founder publisher@eucalyptusmagazine.com

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 3

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grown local David Evans with a few of his charges at his Point Reyes ranch.

grass roots

lane johnson

Raising beef on the range

Spend five minutes with David Evans and you’ll see he is a farmer at heart, but with a businessman’s brain. Cost-and-benefit ratios figure prominently in his conversation as he talks about “pasture finishing” cows, the drawbacks of running a traditional beef operation, and the amount of time it takes for cows to turn over, or be ready for market. At 40 years old, Evans is the owner of Marin Sun Farms, a grass-fed beef and chicken ranch in western Marin County. On Evans’ 382 acres of rolling grassland, a few miles from the Pacific, cattle graze on nothing but grass for their entire lives. “Our animals choose what they eat; we don’t feed them,” Evans says. “They eat from a poly-culture pasture that has different types of grasses with different root depths. When an animal gets to choose what it eats, it can better round out its diet.” Local ranchers sell Evans their young calves that are too small for harvesting. He fattens them up on grass for about two years, then sends them off to the slaughterhouse. The process is known as “pasture finishing,” and it’s made viable by the Bay Area’s demand for grass-fed beef.

// by Ann Marie Brown

Marin Sun Farms’ cows are trained to Evans’ call. “I say, ‘Here, boys; here, girls’ and they come running,” he says. “It allows me not to have to use horses or dogs. I can call the cows and move them anywhere I want them. It keeps them very calm.” Evans knows his way around a cow. Ranching has been in his family for four generations. “I grew up on the ranch next door, the historic H Ranch,” Evans says. “When I started Marin Sun Farms, that was where we were located. But it was also my parents’ home and my sister’s home, and it was a little crowded…. So it was really a blessing when my uncle retired and offered that I take over his lease on this land.” The 100 Hereford and Angus cattle currently on Evans’ ranch share the land with about 3,000 chickens, a mix of laying hens and meat birds. Like the cattle, the chickens range free, pecking at grass and insects. Evans EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 7

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Marin Sun Farms believes raising animals on grass is an earth-friendly alternative to traditional ranching. “It’s not all about getting the animals fat. That has to happen, but we also treat the ground and the grasses right, so over time we’re building more and more productive pastures.” Treating the land right is of great importance to Evans’ landlord, who happens to be the National Park Service. “We’re part of Point Reyes National Seashore,” Evans says. “When my great-grandfather bought this land in 1939, it was private property. In 1960, legislation was passed to form the seashore. Eventually our lands were bought by the government and we negotiated lease-backs for our family.” In addition to running the ranch, Evans hosts farm tours from April to September. “The whole idea of a local food model is to provide transparency. Our farm tours are the pinnacle of that. People can come and talk to me, the person who is producing their food, and ask me any questions they want. We need to get back to a better relationship between the person producing the food and the person consuming it.” To taste the grass-fed meat from Marin Sun Farms, stop in for lunch at its Point Reyes Station café and butcher shop (415.663.8997, www.marinsunfarms.com), or look for its products at farmers’ markets in San Francisco, Marin, Kensington, and Montclair. Marin Sun Farms also has a retail shop in Oakland and a nearly 500-member CSA.

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pets corner

Furry Friends volunteers (pets and humans alike) gather together to deliver their special brand of caregiving at the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

prescription pets On a sunny Tuesday morning, therapy dogs Ruby, Simon, and Thor visited the residents on the skilled nursing floor of Los Gatos Meadows Retirement Home. Group leader and longtime volunteer Mary Collins asked each resident, “Would you like a visit from a dog?” Ruby, a black Newfoundland with gentle eyes and a big pink tongue, stood patiently while residents petted her. Thor, a standard poodle fresh from the dog groomer, seemed to enjoy the comments about his good looks. Simon allowed himself to be placed on the lap of a resident in a wheelchair, eliciting a smile. As the dogs and their handlers moved around the floor, they brought exclamations of surprise and delight. Collins is a volunteer with Furry Friends, a nonprofit organization based in San Jose that provides pet-assisted therapy. She can attest to a growing body of evidence that proves what most pet owners already know: animals are good for us. Dogs and cats provide companionship and love, plus some surprising medical benefits. A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that pet owners who had been released from the hospital after heart attacks survived longer than patients who did not own pets. Another study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that senior 10 | March + April 2012

// by erica goss

citizens who owned pets had fewer incidents of depression and were more physically and socially active. Some studies show that children who grow up with pets have fewer allergies and asthma. Longtime cat owner Carol Rose of Los Gatos believes that pets are natural caregivers. Carol has owned approximately 40 cats since childhood. Her two current cats, Sport and Friday, “know when I don’t feel well. When I’m sick, they come over and lie on me.” Carol treats her kitties well, feeding them organic chicken and calling them on the phone when she’s away. “They give me so much,” she says. “When I pet my cats, I feel better.” Stress relief is a major benefit of being in the company of animals. Collins recalls a patient whose blood pressure, as measured by a doctor, dropped after a visit from a therapy dog. Therapy animals have been proven to help veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and children coping with serious illnesses. High schools and colleges, including Santa Clara University’s Law School, often request therapy animals from Furry Friends to help their students cope with the stress of taking exams. Last year, Monta Vista High School in Cupertino requested 18 therapy dogs during finals week. The dogs passed the test. “The kids loved them,” says Rhonda Hardy, a board member and volunteer with Furry Friends.

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healthful eating Alkaline foods such as salmon, almonds, fruits, and vegetables may help to keep your body’s pH in balance.

lane johnson

acid test

Your diet’s pH factor

Everyone knows that vegetables and fruits are good for you. Here’s yet another reason why: A diet high in fruits and vegetables can help your body maintain optimum pH levels, keeping bones and tissues strong. In case you forgot your high school science lessons, pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is determined by a number ranging from 0 to 14, with pure water having a neutral pH of 7. Solutions that score 0 to 6 on the pH scale are more acidic; those ranging from 8 to 14 are more alkaline. Meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol are examples of more acidic foods. Too much acidity can stress the body’s ability to regulate pH, causing it to draw alkalizing mineral reserves from bones and tissues, which in turn weakens them. “Blood and cell pH is tightly regulated around 7.4 to sustain life, despite the foods we eat,” says Kristin Wood, Clinical Outpatient Dietitian at Kaiser Permanente. “Foods can influence your body’s pH balance by creating a more acidic or alkaline environment. Acid-producing foods lead to metabolic imbalance and illness, while alkaline-producing foods restore pH balance and improve health. Research seems to support that alkaline-forming foods, especially fruits and veggies, have a positive effect on bone and muscle retention,” Woods says. Registered dietitian Jill Nussinow adds, “Often people feel better when they eat a more alkaline diet,” which includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and herbal teas. She suggests that to help balance pH, “cut out coffee and switch to rooibos (red African tea), dandelion root tea, or Teeccino coffee substitute.” Too much acid-producing food can lead to general feelings of fatigue and irritability as well as a host of health problems. “An overly acidic diet creates many problems in the body, including inflam-

// by rhea maze

mation, toxicity, and a breeding ground for microbes. These conditions prevent the body from functioning optimally and contribute to issues such as constipation, diarrhea, and kidney and liver problems. Additionally, acidic states cause our bodies to continually borrow minerals from our bones, which can lead to more serious diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis,” says Certified Nutrition Consultant Mia Rosingana. Rosingana recommends that beginners who want to eat in a more pH-balanced way “start slow, by cutting down on meat and processed foods while adding in plenty of green, leafy vegetables on a daily basis. Adding sea veggies a couple times a week is also very beneficial for promoting alkalinity.” While pH tests are available, the best gauge of whether or not a more alkaline diet works for you is simply to evaluate how you feel after a two-week period. Certified Nutrition Consultant Diane Tryforos credits a pH-balanced diet with allowing her to stop taking a daily combination of 10 medications. Tryforos adds that since stress can also create acidic conditions in the body due to rising cortisol levels, a pH-balanced diet should also incorporate healthy stress management practices. “It really is a lifestyle change, not just a diet,” she says. EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 13

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Sense Place

Cultivating a of Bay Ar ea N ative Plan t Gardening

B y R hea M aze

p h o t og r aph s b y l ane j o hn s on

Native Encelia californica shine brightly in Osakaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garden. Right: Careful labeling helps shoppers find plants that are native to their locale

Margot Cunningham of Native Here Nursery says planting natives is a form of restoration.

At Sherri Osaka’s home in Campbell,

Sherri Osaka with her California natives

three California coast live oak trees form a natural border between the sidewalk and the front yard, providing shade for people and a habitat for wildlife. Bees and hummingbirds hover near the purple Mexican sage bush flowers. Osaka, Director of the California Native Plant Society's (CNPS) Gardening With Natives Program, points out snowberry bush, mock-orange, sages, coast sunflowers, and penstemon—each California native plant labeled for the benefit of visitors. “With gardening, there is always something new to learn,” she says. Osaka’s yard is a masterpiece of careful planning. It is drought-tolerant, hydro-zoned, drip-irrigated, and includes a colorful mix of native California plants, low-water plants, fruit trees, and edible plants. “I haven’t used pesticides or fertilizers in 17 years,” Osaka says, as a squirrel darts past the worm bin and the small National Wildlife Federation sign declaring this garden a certified wildlife habitat. “I just use compost, bark mulch, and grass-cycling. Leaving clippings on the ground adds a lot of nitrogen,” she says. Like Osaka, many Bay Area homeowners are thinking outside the lawn-and-roses box. California is home to about 6,000 native plant species, 2,000 of which are found nowhere else, making our state a world-renowned biodiversity hot spot for rare flora and fauna. One way to preserve that biodiversity is to forgo the cheap non-native flowers at big-box stores and instead plant what grows naturally in the Bay Area. “California is a special place on earth…One of the best ways to preserve and learn about native plants is to grow them in your garden,” says Arvind Kumar, // continued on page 24

EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 17

h arley fa r m s pescadero

nicasio valley c heese company nicasio

sch oc h family farmstea d sa l i n a s

r edwo o d h i l l farm se ba sto p o l

18 | March + April 2012

making

cheese

& caretaking

the land

S usta i n a b l e Chees emaki ng i n the Bay Area by D o ña B umgar n e r Fa r mst ea d cheesemaker s build their traditional, slow-craft cheese from the ground up, guided by the principle that it takes great milk to make great cheese. These farmer-artisans make use of the special qualities of their land to raise cows and goats that produce exceptional milk. Much like small-batch vineyard wines, farmstead cheeses concentrate the flavors of their ingredients, picking up nuanced hints of seasonal grasses, the quality of water the animals drink, and even live cultures in the local air. Here’s a look at four Bay Area cheesemakers who produce cheese from the milk of their own flocks.

clockwise from top left: courtesy harley farms; lane johnson; courtesy schoch family farmstead; sharon bice, courtesy redwood hill farm

schoc h fa m i ly fa r m st e ad Located just north of Salinas, Schoch Dairy has been run by the Schoch family for three generations. One of the last remaining dairies in Monterey County, it has survived and thrived by changing with the times. “Small dairies go out of business every day in this economy,” says farmer and cheesemaker Beau Schoch. To keep up with the volatile market, Schoch and his brothers began making cheeses for local farmers’ markets and grocery stores. Schoch’s Monterey Jack is smooth and mild, with a light golden color and slightly nutty scent—much different than the bland supermarket-style Monterey Jack. Schoch makes it and three other aged cheeses—Swiss, Edam, and gouda—from raw, unpasteurized milk, which he says allows seasonal flavor shifts to carry through. “Terroir is very much present in our cheese,” Schoch says, referring to the special characteristics that local geography and climate bestow upon farm products like cheese, wine, and tea. This emphasis on “place” makes the Schoch family active stewards of their land. They practice rotation grazing to let their pastures recover from the impact of the animals, and they have replanted native hedgerows and a riparian zone along a creek that borders their property. Their cows’ diet is supplemented with trimmings from local produce-packing sheds and almond hulls from neighboring almond ranches, keeping those products out of the dump. “The greens are mixed with alfalfa and oat hay,” Schoch says. “It looks like salad.”

When he starts a new batch of cheese, Schoch uses milk that is still warm from the cows, which are fed only grass and hand-milked by the Schoch family. As the batch ages, he turns and brines the cheese by hand three times a week so it develops a natural rind. Schoch Family Farmstead cheeses can be found at the Monterey Farmers Market (Fridays at Monterey Peninsula College), Aptos Market, Whole Foods Monterey, and Carmel Cheese Shop.

nicasio valley c heese company Scott Lafranchi starts his day early in the remodeled barn that houses Nicasio Valley Cheese Company’s creamery. The cows are milked at 6:30 a.m., and “by 8:30 the milk is going into our vats,” Lafranchi says. He produces six types of Swiss-style cheese based on traditional recipes passed down to his family by a cheesemaker from the Swiss village where his grandfather grew up. Situated on more than 1,000 organic acres, the Lafranchi family dairy has been around since 1919, but they didn’t start selling cheese until 2010. While the recipes are traditionally Swiss, the cheeses are vintage Northern California, Lafranchi says. All of Nicasio Valley’s cheese is made with organic, pasteurized milk. “The milk is different here,” he says. “It is so fresh.” Nicasio Valley Cheese Company is California’s only certified organic farmstead cheesemaker. The Lafranchi family dairy utilizes sustainable ranching practices, including rotation grazing and manure management. The dairy mixes the ranch’s cow manure with a neighbor’s horse manure // continued on page 26 EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 19

lane johnson; opposite page, left to right: lane johnson; randi baird

stress relief

techniques that don't come in a bottle

by alan lopez

Left: Ann Marie Deas uses acupuncture to treat patients suffering from anxiety and stress. Right: Belleruth Naparstek has produced dozens of guided imagery recordings designed to relax the mind. Opposite page: Yoga practitioners at Breathe Los Gatos let go of their stress.

Mo de rn l i fe can be stressful and distracting. To cope, some people develop bad habits such as overeating, alcohol abuse, or smoking, or they take anti-stress drugs prescribed by their medical doctor. But in the Bay Area, many healthier stress relief options are available and gaining greater popularity and acceptance. These five relaxation methods are not only good for relieving stress, they can prolong and enrich our lives as well. Yoga

At the yoga studio Breathe Los Gatos, owner Jennifer Prugh says the main goal of taking yoga or meditation classes is relaxation, or creating peace within, without using traditional Western medications. “You have to develop some sort of daily system of self-care, especially with the kind of culture we live in,” Prugh says. “It’s crazy fast and it will take everything away from you if you don’t pay attention.” Prugh opened Breathe in January 2011 after working with a woman in her mid-30s who was suffering from cancer. The woman’s life was extended by practicing yoga—initially in her bed, although eventually she was able to get up and move. Breathe offers some 75 yoga classes a week, as well as sessions in meditation, qi gong, and tai chi. Classes vary in difficulty ranging from restorative yoga, which is done on supportive bolsters, to “flight yoga” performed on aerial slings.

“We have yoga for moms and babies, we have prenatal yoga, yoga for families, yoga for teams. There’s no demographic that’s not included here,” says Prugh, who was an associate professor in the humanities before she took to yoga. Experts say that practicing yoga dampens the body’s stress response; boosts levels of feel-good brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine; and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms a person down and restores balance after a major stressor occurs. Yoga has become so popular in the Bay Area that a yoga studio can be found in almost every neighborhood, and classes are offered at most health clubs and community centers. The cities of San Jose and Campbell each have six privately owned yoga studios. Los Gatos and Los Altos have five apiece. To help find an appropriate yoga studio or teacher to fit your needs, purchase a $30 Passport to Prana (www.passporttoprana.

com), which provides admittance to one class at each of 10 participating studios in the South Bay. If you try out all 10 studios, you’ll pay only $3 per class. Ta i c h i

Tai chi is a “soft martial art” that can reduce stress and lower blood pressure, according to health experts at the Mayo Clinic. Dating back to 14th-century China, tai chi involves a series of slow, meditative body movements that were originally designed for self-defense. It uses the legs to carry the body while the arms move slowly and gracefully in the air. Free tai chi classes are offered at San Jose’s public libraries by the nonprofit Compassionate Service Society (www. compassheart.com), founded by Master Ce Hang Truong, a Vietnamese monk. Truong developed the “Ten Forms of Integral Tai Chi,” a series of exercises, relaxation techniques, and meditation. The forms, which are symbolically based on “heaven,” “earth,” and various animals, combine yoga, tai chi, qi gong, and meditation into one system that integrates the body, mind, and spirit. From a Chinese medicine perspective, tai chi works by regulating the body’s internal energy or qi (pronounced “chee”). If a person’s qi is blocked because of stress or other reasons, tai chi can get it flowing through the body again. Oakland resident Mabel Lee says she’s become a healthier, happier, and more EUCALYPTUSMAGAZINE.COM | 21

stress relief confident person since she began practicing Truong’s style of tai chi five years ago. “My life has changed in a very, very short five years,” says Lee, 52. Acupuncture

Acupuncture is another ancient Chinese practice that can benefit the body, says Ann Marie Deas, acupuncturist and owner of Altos Medical Acupuncture in Los Altos. Many of Deas’ patients seek acupuncture treatments for psychological symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and stress. Others come in for treatment of pain or fertility issues. Acupuncture works by placing small needles on specific points on the body, which regulates the body’s qi. The modern

For many, that’s easier said than done. Those needing extra help can visit the Stanford Center for a variety of treatments, including self-hypnosis, which may help patients deal with phobias, smoking, pain, and stress management. “Yes, it has some weird associations, but [self-hypnosis] is a highly effective treatment,” says Spiegel, who has been researching hypnosis for 40 years and co-authored Trance and Treatment, a 2004 textbook on the clinical uses of hypnosis. It usually takes only a few sessions to train a patient in self-hypnosis, Spiegel says. The treatment works by allowing patients

imagining the taste and smell of an orange will begin to salivate. The body responds the same whether the action is actually occurring or is a figment of the imagination. Based out of Cleveland and trained in hypnosis, psychotherapist Belleruth Naparstek began recording her own guided imagery tapes in 1988. She made it her full-time career after a woman undergoing chemotherapy from breast cancer improved dramatically from listening to one of Naparstek’s tapes. “My basic goal was to ease suffering and make a difference,” Naparstek says, “but I didn’t know what I was doing.” Naparstek went on to create the 55-title Time Warner Health Journeys guided

scientific explanation is that needling the acupuncture points stimulates muscles and connective tissues, which appears to boost natural painkillers and increase blood flow. Like yoga, acupuncture also stimulates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and relaxation. “It gives your body a chance to just be, as opposed to always responding,” says Deas, who has a master’s degree in public health as well as traditional Chinese medicine.

to focus intently on a specific problem and its resolution while maintaining a comfortable state of physical relaxation. It also helps patients to enhance control over their body responses. Spiegel compares the effect to that of being absorbed in watching a movie or reading a novel, causing a person to lose awareness of their surroundings. Using self-hypnosis, Spiegel says, his patients “can reduce or eliminate pain. They can handle anxiety.”

Self-hypnosis

David Spiegel, the medical director of the Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine, recommends that people train their bodies to deal with stress with the same simple formula that athletes use to train for competition: Eat right, exercise, and get plenty of rest. 22 | March + April 2012

G u i d e d i m a g e ry

A sub-category of hypnosis is guided imagery, a kind of deliberate, directed daydreaming that can guide a person’s imagination toward a relaxed, focused state. Guided imagery is based on the connection of body and mind. For example, a person

imagery audio series. She has written three books on the topic and works with soldiers in the Middle East suffering from post-traumatic stress. “[Guided imagery] works with the more primitive, survival-based structures of the brain,” she says. “That’s why it’s such a good choice for post-traumatic stress.” Naparstek’s audio series also includes recordings for stress management, addictions, pain relief, depression, and more. Her soothing music and lyrical dictation is designed to capture the listener’s imagination. Anyone can benefit from listening to a guided imagery recording, Naparstek says, even if they fall asleep while listening. In fact, that might just be the best prescription—a relaxed state of sleep is often what a stressed-out person needs.

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Dr. David Spiegel of the Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine; an integral tai chi class practices the ancient forms; Jennifer Prugh, owner of Breathe Los Gatos.

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Plants grown from seeds collected in Bay Area parks are for sale at Berkeley’s Native Here Nursery.

President of the CNPS’s Santa Clara Valley Chapter. Native plants naturally meet the needs of wildlife, don’t require a lot of water, thrive without pesticides and fertilizers, and allow gardeners to connect with an authentic sense of place. If you don’t have a green thumb, no worries: Mother Nature does. Plant a garden filled with natives and she’ll do most of the work. “When I first started [gardening with native plants], it was all about low maintenance,” Kumar says. “People don’t realize that maintaining a lawn is hard work. You have to water, mow, fertilize, and aerate. A lot of us blindly accept this because it’s what the neighbors are doing, but the average lawn bill for homeowners is about $1,800 per year,” he says. Lawns also take a huge environmental toll. It is estimated that over half the water used in California goes to landscapes. Thirsty, non-native grasses and gardens don’t fit well with our Mediterranean climate, which is dry for so much of the year. “Water is a precious and finite resource. Santa Clara County imports roughly half of its water supply from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, which is an important ecosystem for hundreds of species and a key source of water for farmers and over 25 million Californians,” says Virginia O’Rourke, Water Conservation Specialist for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Competing interests for water, the certainty of future droughts, and California’s continued population growth make conservation imperative. “One way to conserve is to plant low-water plants,” O’Rourke says. The District offers property owners rebates for converting residential or commercial sites into low-water landscapes. The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) provides a similar incentive. Their “Lawn be Gone” program offers a rebate of 50 cents per square foot to residents who replace their lawn. “Water is limited... There are not enough local supplies to meet our needs,” says Nicole Sandkulla, BAWSCA’s Water Resources Planning Manager. It might seem difficult to switch to a lawn-free yard until you consider the fact that lawns typically use about three times as much water as other plants in the landscape. Lose the lawn and you save money on your water bill. A patch of native sedge grass grows in Osaka’s font yard where a lawn used to be. Slow growing, it reaches a maximum height of about 6 inches, stays green all year, and doesn’t require a lot of water or maintenance. “You can mow it, but I just kind of weed-whack it. It fills in nicely,” Osaka says. Her entire front yard is full of color yet rarely needs water. Other native lawn alternatives include bunch, needle, oat, and melic grasses, blue wild rye, wild lilac, coyote bush, and wildflower mixtures. The sage, manzanita, and ceanothus families also provide good groundcover options in all shapes and sizes. “It just takes some education. It’s all about selection and 24 | March + April 2012

spacing,” Osaka says. For those who want color, Kumar recommends native wildflowers. “Poppies and clarkias are very easy to grow,” he says. Some of his other favorite native plants include hummingbird sage, toyon, coffeeberry, blue elderberry, yarrow, oaks, and the beautiful California buckeye tree. Besides removing your lawn and planting native plants, other ways to save water and money include using drip irrigation, amending soil, and covering exposed dirt with two to three inches of compost or mulch. “Compost creates a nice blanket and provides nutrients…it also keeps moisture in and heat out, creating greater efficiency,” Sandkulla says. Hydrozoning, which involves grouping plants together based on their irrigation needs, also helps to save water. At Native Here Nursery, a nonprofit project of the CNPS’s East Bay chapter, volunteers have obtained permits that allow them to safely collect native plant cuttings and seeds from regional parks and other locations. “We’re more strict [than other nurseries] and only sell local native plants. We’re trying to get people to think in terms of what’s native right where you live,” says Margot Cunningham, the nursery manager. Native Here Nursery’s plants are organized by city, making it easy to find what naturally thrives in a specific area. Plant identification cards provide information on each plant’s origin and where it grows. Cunningham suggests that people start out small so they don’t get overwhelmed. “Don’t try to plant your whole yard at once. It’s best to plant one to four plants a year and see how they do,” she says. She encourages gardeners to seek out books and online resources such as www.calflora.org in order to fully evaluate what would grow best in their specific location. “It’s a form of restoration to plant what used to grow here. It brings back ecosystems and wildlife. Plus, it’s enjoyable and puts you in touch with a place,” Cunningham says.

Visit our local native plant nurseries for ideas and inspiration: Yerba Buena California Native Plant Nursery: 19500 Skyline Blvd., Woodside, 650.851.1668 Common Ground: 559 College Ave, Palo Alto, 650.493.6072 Summerwinds Nursery: 805 Yuba Drive, Mountain View, 650.967.3154; and 725 San Antonio Rd., Palo Alto, 650.493.5136 Bay Natives: 375 Alabama St., San Francisco, 415.285.2240 Annie’s Annuals and Perennials: 740 Market Ave., Richmond, 888.266.4370 Native Here Nursery: 101 Golf Course Rd., Berkeley, 510.549.0211 Oaktown Native Plant Nursery: 702 Channing Way, Berkeley, 510.387.9744 East Bay Wilds Native Plant Nursery: 1972 36th Ave., Oakland, 510.409.5858

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cheesemaking continued from page 19 and local green waste to produce high quality compost. The compost is used for cleaner pasture fertilizer and is sold back to the local community. Visitors are welcome at Nicasio Valley Cheese Company’s retail store at 5300 Nicasio Valley Road in Nicasio (www.nicasiocheese. com). The company’s cheeses are also available at Draeger’s Market in Menlo Park, Los Altos, and San Mateo, Bianchini’s Market in San Carlos and Portola Valley, and Andronico’s in Palo Alto.

re dwo od h i l l fa r m Three miles down the road from the red barns and frolicking goats at Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol, the Redwood Hill Farm creamery is housed in a converted building known as “the old Vacu Dry Plant.” In a clean and modern cheese room that belies the building’s history as an apple-processing plant, cheesemaker Patty Beverly makes goat milk cheeses—chevre, cheddar, and feta—using artisan production methods. “Our cheeses are handmade and hand-wrapped,” Beverly says. Although its yogurt and kefir products are available nationwide, Redwood Hill Farm distributes its goat cheeses only on the West Coast. “The cheeses are more fragile,” Beverly says. “We experimented with shipping further east, but we couldn’t ensure the quality level we wanted.” Redwood Hill Farm was the first certified humane goat dairy in the United States. In addition to treating its animals well, the company is committed to managing a sustainable operation. Both the dairy and creamery run on solar power. All of the manure and bedding from the dairy’s goat barns is used for fertilizer in the vegetable garden and fruit tree orchards. The creamery also recycles whey, a byproduct of the cheesemaking process, to be used as a mildew-reducing spray for neighboring vineyards and as feed for a nearby pig farm. Batches of yogurt that can’t be sold are fed to the goat kids. Beverly notes that cheesemaking is, by nature, a water-intensive process, but at the Redwood Hill cheese plant, water use is kept to a minimum, thanks to low-tech practices like using squeegees

instead of sprayers to wash the floor. Redwood Hill Farm’s cheeses are available at Draeger’s Market in Menlo Park, Los Altos, and San Mateo, and Mollie Stone’s Market in Palo Alto, or can be purchased online at www.redwoodhill.com.

h arley farms The shop at Pescadero’s Harley Farms is behind an old-fashioned screen door that creaks and thumps as it swings closed. Arranged around the shop are tasting stations for Harley’s farmstead goat cheeses: chevre in a variety of flavors, small-batch brined feta, fromage blanc, and seasonal ricotta. The shop also sells goat milk lotions and soaps and gift items made by local artisans. A field of colorful edible flowers, visible through the back windows, are grown as decorations for the farm’s chevre rounds. “The flowers are the hallmark of our sustainability efforts,” says manager Adriana Guzman. Those efforts include a rooftop rainwater catchment system that provides water for the farm’s 200 goats for seven months of the year, a composting shed to manage manure waste, a grey-water irrigation system for the pasture, and closedloop heating and cooling vats in the cheese room. Fifteen of the farm’s employees are housed on the farm, negating the costs of commuting. Harley Farms is a “hyper-local” producer. “We sell most of our cheese on site,” Guzman says. Farm owner Dee Harley hosts farm tours, cheesemaking classes, and seasonal dinners with food entirely sourced from her own and neighbors’ farms. The farm shares any composted manure it doesn’t need with a waiting list of local gardeners, and sends the excess whey from its cheese room to the pigs down the road at Early Bird Farm. Harley Farms’ cheeses are available at the farm’s shop at 205 North Street in Pescadero (www.harleyfarms.com). Or find them at Bay Area New Leaf Markets and Whole Foods Markets.

Want to learn more about farmstead cheese? Attend the Sixth Annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival on March 23-25 at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaluma. The event includes cheese tastings, talks, and tours (www.artisancheesefestival.com).

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/spring cleaning

Clearing out winter’s detritus to make room for spring’s sunshine is a rejuvenating ritual for many of us. Unfortunately, most conventional cleaning products do more harm than good to our health and the environment. This season, throw open your windows to a truly clean, green spring. BY rhea maze

Green tea is a healthy drink, and its antibacterial properties work wonders to clean and deodorize your home. Use liquid green tea to clean any washable surfaces, or sprinkle dried tea leaves in the litter box or on the carpet before vacuuming. Absorb bad fridge odors with brewed tea bags placed in a bowl.

The next time your drain is clogged, pour baking soda and vinegar into it and watch as it fizzes itself free the non-toxic way.

Sources: www.care2.com, www.planetgreen.com, www.earthshare.com, www.nrdc.org

tea time

Save money and clean green with old-fashioned cleaning solutions. Here’s one simple all-purpose recipe: In a spray bottle, mix three parts organic apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar to one part water. Add 3 to 10 drops of lemon oil. Grab a rag and go crazy!

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Mix two teaspoons of pure tea tree oil and two cups of water in a spray bottle, spritz on mold spots, and walk away. No rinsing required.

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Green Tips

Most dry cleaners utilize the carcinogen perchloroethylene for cleaning, which pollutes air and groundwater. Patronize dry cleaners who use carbon dioxide or citrus cleansers instead of toxic chemicals, or those who offer a wet cleaning option.

lemon lift

Lemon’s acidity makes it perfect for dissolving stains and disinfecting surfaces. A swipe with half a lemon can sanitize your cutting board, wipe up a greasy mess on the stove top, or polish copper or chrome. Use the peels to refresh your garbage disposal.

Listen to Eucalyptus Magazine’s daily green tips on the radio at MIX 106.5 and 94.5 KBAY.

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